Monday Outfit: Rockstar Pants

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Good morning! Everyone knows about K’s love of animal prints. And most people know that I make all her clothes, so of course, she received two yards of animal print fabric for her birthday.

“Pants!” she said without an iota of hesitation when I asked her what she’d like me to make with her special fabric. Pants it is.

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I used the “slim pants” pattern from this great book, but made a few mods in addition to lengthening the pant legs by 1cm. I changed the front pockets (the original design has front patch pockets) and skinnified the legs, which were easy modifications — I’ll show you what I did in more detail on Wednesday!

rockstar-pants3K is very, very happy with these. Her one complaint was that she wanted them to be skin tight, but despite having a little bit of stretch, making them any tighter would not have allowed her to have the range of movement she so loves.

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Rockstar pants, don’t you think? The shirt is a hand-me-down from her slightly older neighbor friend, and K inherited a huge bag full of bright and colorful clothes. It almost made me toss out my plans to sew school clothes for K. Almost, but not quite. Sewing back-to-school clothes is a ritual I consider sacred.

We tried the pants with the black stripey tee for a different look. That tee gets worn a ton.

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I’ve been meaning to make these pants for years but the zip fly had me cowed, as many zipper projects tend to do. I took the plunge, though, and I’m glad I did because it really wasn’t all that bad. I also had it in my head that it would be incredibly challenging to add one of those adjustable elastic waistbands, which turned out not to be painful in the least.

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The one snafu I ran into was the shortage of waistband width, and rather than cutting out a new waistband, I got creative and folded the fly guard instead. It worked! So much so that I wondered if maybe that’s what I was supposed to do and the instructions just didn’t include it…who knows?

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At any rate, these pants resulted in much jubilation! I would like to try the Peekaboo pattern next. [I originally wrote Small Fry, but I’ve already made a pair back in November. See what I mean about my memory? Thank goodness for this blog!]

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rockstar-pants6Look at all these fun denim colors I have — K is going to love them!

What about you? Any fall sewing plans?

 

 

Happy Friday + Randomness

 

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A few months ago, I went to the Folk Life festival for the first time. It’s a music and street food bonanza and a friend was performing so K and I braved the heavy traffic and navigated our way toward the Exhibition hall. A swish and a loud collective gasp from a crowd stopped us in our tracks, and there, standing in the middle, was a juggler.

Now, I’m no juggling expert, but this guy was something special. First of all, he was dressed like Hansel from Grimm’s Fairy Tale (or at least how I imagine Hansel would dress) and he was lobbing massive bowling pins into the air. This youthful man clad in old-timey garb kept a running monologue going throughout his performance, which included adding other objects into the airborne pins — the highlight addition was a child.

K and I stood mesmerized and when he passed around a receptacle for donations, I readily tossed in five bucks. It was worth it. I was also struck by how he emphasized how he’s been practicing for 20 years, starting with little bean bags and working his way up to bigger items. “This is how I make my living folks,” he announced proudly. I was impressed. My husband would probably say it’s B.S. but I believe the juggler — he’s that good.

If he can make a living throwing and catching objects, I can do the same with my various skills, I reasoned. I’m a bit of a juggler myself, what with all this sewing, writing, illustrating and book-making. Remembering the Folk Life incident bolstered me, and I have finally finally worked up the chutzpah to put my little Furoku sidebar button and an explanatory page (it’s somewhat long-winded — I’m working on editing it). It’s a gamble, folks. But I’m willing to keep practicing and evolving.

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The giveaway responses are so fun! I especially love the party stories and so far the unbelted look for the dress is winning out.

Your Furoku Six
Will arrive late on Monday
My mojo’s returned

Giveaway: Stylish Party Dresses [CLOSED]

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Yet another giveaway! Tuttle Publishing has put forth a fun book — all about party dresses! In case you were wondering, I didn’t translate this one. And because it’s not going to be available until September 15th, today’s post is a bit of a sneak peek.

There are 26 patterns (a – z) with that simple, flow-y and Japanese look and feel. The title is a little misleading since there are a number of separates too. That just adds to the versatility, I say. I flipped through the pages and liked these in particular:

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And then I thought, why not sew one? 

I selected pattern V because the raglan construction looked super easy:

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I was talking to one of my favorite baristas yesterday, and as I rustled about my bag in search of dollar bills for my soy latte, he told me how he’s been invited to 13 weddings so far this year. 13!!! Even if I added up all the weddings I’ve been to including my own, I would come up short. The barista is very charming and witty, so I can see why he’d be inundated with invites. Feeling quite inadequate about my barren social calendar, I decided that I should make a casual dress out of knit instead. I found this slinky and soft jersey knit in navy and black lounging in one of my fabric bins and the die was cast.

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I don’t know…the only fiesta vibe that this dress is evoking is “pajama party”. As you can imagine, it’s mighty comfy. In fact, when K saw me in my freshly made attire, she squealed, “Mama! I love that — it’s so pretty! I want one just like it to wear to bed!” The fabric is from here, I’m assuming, though I’m destined to feature fabric they’re out of. I didn’t have quite enough for the sleeves so I shaved off 3 inches from the sleeve length.

Maybe if I belt it?

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Or no?

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Not sure…

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Either way, the keyhole detail in the back is nice, and I even added knit interfacing (like this) which is a step I usually skip.

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A word of caution: I found some mistakes with the instructions. For example, the facing is supposed to be sewn on right side together, but the instructions are reversed. Also, I thought this was a funny misprint:

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There’s a missing line — can you see it?

These are minor issues though, and the garments included are quite lovely. Would you like to win a copy?

To enter the giveaway, any comment will do but perhaps you’d like to regale me with a tale of a recent bash you’ve attended (I like to live vicariously). Or maybe share a favorite party song. Or you could vote on belted vs. non-belted for the pajama party dress. Anything, really. I’ll leave the giveaway open until next Thursday, September 3rd and will announce the winner the next day. International entries welcome! Good luck!!

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Monday Outfit: Bedford in Black and Floral

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Good morning! Normally I make a birthday dress for K, but sometimes the sewing stars refuse to align. I purchased the Brooklyn Pattern Co. Bedford Dress well before her party (I knew there was zero chance I’d get it done in time for her actual birthday), and even managed to get K to select a fabric from my stash. Given the way things have been working out for me these days, I would say that a week behind schedule isn’t too bad.

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I believe the fabric is from Drygoods — my memory, being what it is, is unreliable. I want to say it’s cotton, possibly a cotton/rayon blend, and it has a distinctly crinkly texture.

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Can we talk exposed zippers? I love them. However, I’ve always had trouble with them looking anything but amateur. Luckily, Erin’s instructions are so clear and detailed, this teal zip installation is looking mighty professional.

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I’m digging the overall effect, but I didn’t account for the fact that the crinkles would make it difficult to accurately measure and cut the fabric. The racerback straps in the back are extremely thin, and my facing wasn’t lining up even remotely. As per instructions, I was generous with pin usage, but because of my uneven strap widths, I found it tricky to sew them together.

 

It’s been a long, long, long time since I’ve savored a sewing project — this dress looks simple, but there are a surprising number of details like the cute curved hem and new-to-me techniques, which was just what I needed. I didn’t rush the process, followed every instruction (a rarity for me) and by the end of it, I felt that awesome yet paradoxical combination of calm and invigorated. Good sewing does that for me. The dress could have turned out a complete mess and I wouldn’t have minded. I reveled in not having multiple huge deadlines hanging over my head, and I was sewing for the pure fun of it. It was indulgent in the best possible way.

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Plus, I don’t think it’s a complete mess and K approves of my version of the Bedford Dress, so as K likes to say lately, “win-win!!”

Happy Friday + Randomness

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Today, we have a guest post by none other than K! Take it away, sweetie:

hey everyone! this is k here. this year has been tough because all my friends are away! my neighbor just moved. which is sad to me! 🙁 but my summer has been pretty awesome anyway! being filled with fun stuff like my bday party which could have been the most awesome thing this year! i have been going to coding camp this week and i am the only girl (except one other girl who is in a different group) i just came back from camp! i hope your summer has been as awesome as mine! bye!

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Isn’t her enthusiasm for life effervescent? We obviously have a penchant for the word “awesome” in our family…at any rate, I just love how intently she’s concentrating on writing up the blog post. So awesome.

Well, that’s it folks. Even though we technically have three more weeks of summer left, it already feels like the end. We’re going to make the most of these last carefree days, mark my words. K has no other camps and we are going to laze about and enjoy each other’s company as we prepare for the new school year. I’m still restoring my sewing area which I had to dismantle for the birthday party, but there will be some sewing — I’m hoping I can finally convince K to try her hand at my beloved craft. There will be picnics. There will be lots and lots of trips to the library and hours of reading (while on picnics, I hope). Possibilities of goodness ahead.

Happy Friday, all
August is swiftly ending
Time to think of Fall